We recently arrested a 45-year-old Federal Way man who stole heavy equipment and trailers from Eastern Washington and brough them back to Western Washington. The year-long investigation resulted in the recovery of 18 vehicles, trailers, and pieces of heavy equipment from properties in Parkland, Kent, Federal Way and Bellevue.
During the investigation, the suspect was seen driving a 2015 Ford Transit van that had been stolen from the Richland area. Detectives discovered that the suspect had altered the VIN on the van to match the VIN of a wrecked Ford Transit van he had purchased at auction. He then titled the wrecked van in Washington and used its license plates on the stolen van.
The suspect was living in a 2020 Shadow Cruiser travel trailer, which had also been stolen from the Richland area. All original decals and the original VIN had been removed from the trailer. The suspect installed a new VIN placard that belonged to a Forest River travel trailer. He also installed new decals consistent with the Forest River brand.
The following stolen property was recovered during the investigation:
2021 Grand Design travel trailer
2020 Shadow Cruiser travel trailer
2017 Coachman Freedom Express travel trailer
2021 CAT 303.5 mini excavator
2006 Trail King trailer
2017 John Deere 318E skid steer
2017 U-Haul trailer
2020 Kubota KX040 mini excavator
2006 PJ trailer
2021 Mirage cargo trailer
2015 Ford Transit van
2003 cargo trailer
2018 Ford Transit van
2017 Kubota SVL95 skid steer
2016 Big Tex dump trailer
2018 Loadtrail trailer
2021 Summit trailer
2012 Mercedes Sprinter van
The suspect was booked into jail, and over a dozen felony charges have been filed against the suspect in multiple counties throughout Washington.